Cybernetic Resonances / CDUEW

B[L]OOM is both an installation and an instrument, made from copper bells and the frame of an old piano. Its sounds are soft yet penetrating, echoing what the piano once was. A tribute to pioneer David Tudor, it brings together music, space, and chance. 

Followed by Deadpan, an audiovisual piece by Evelien van den Broek. Pianist Nora Mulder and trombonist Koen Kaptijn perform live while manipulating film clips, inspired by Buster Keaton. The result is a series of short scenes with a dry, electro-acoustic soundtrack. You could call it a a modern slapstick experience. 

This young, energetic ensemble presents works that explore the interplay between robotics and music using custom-built instruments, hybrid instruments, and moving sound sculptures. What to expect? 

Inspired by a fictional steampunk creature – the Mecha-Cow – Julian Maple-Oliveira's piece humorously highlights how living beings can be replaced by machines. The performance features quirky, self-built electromechanical instruments like the Multi-Flexatone-Bot, Cowbell Keyboard, and Piano-Plucker Gadget, complemented by Soma Laboratories’ PIPE synthesiser. 

Mari Mako introduces a kinetic (moving) sound sculpture that also serves as conductor. Her design plays with microtones and the pentatonic tradition of Zoltán Kodály, showing how an ensemble can collaborate in new, mechanical ways. 

Dan Ehrlich explores how the human body can be digitally extended. Using harp, vibraphone, electric guitar, and synthesisers, he creates a rich soundscape in which acoustic sounds are transformed through breath-controlled sampling and digital processing. 

Piyawat Louilarpprasert closes the show with Organic Mechanics: Futuristic Octopus, a performance installation featuring seven performers playing tentacle-like instruments powered by air and movement. The piece is fully acoustic, playful, theatrical, and blurs the line between human and machine. 

Founded in The Hague in 2018, Spaceship Ensemble is an innovative contemporary music ensemble known for their unique acoustic instruments, often accompanied by synthesisers and custom-built electromechanical devices. 

They regularly commission and perform new works by up-and-coming composers such as Piyawat Louilarpprasert, Bethan Morgan-Williams, Thanakarn Schofield, and Alexandre Lunsqui. 

Spaceship Ensemble has become an important force in Dutch contemporary music, performing at major new music festivals such as Gaudeamus Festival (2022), Music Utopias Festival (2022), and Dag in de Branding (2023).